Team 007
by Girl On The Rise
Summary: The Hidden Leaf Secret Service is a renowned intelligence agency whose missions range from arresting cat-nappers and jaywalkers to terrorists and drug dealers. If only that dratted Team 7 could stop butting in, outshining them, and taking all the glory, things would go a lot more smoothly. (OCs are involved, but they are mainly minor characters)
1. Enter Team 7

**A collaboration between my sister and me. ^^**

**Enjoy!**

**P.S. If I owned Naruto, Neji Hyuuga would be alive 'n' kickin' . But I don't. Kishimoto-san does. So Neji-kun is dead :/ .**

* * *

Aizawa Masaru was a focused man. One who knew what he had to do to achieve what he wanted. As he made his way up to his office on the 8th floor of the Fukayama Corp. building, a majestic stainless steel structure that towered over the others around it, he ran through his list of objectives of the day. He walked through the revolving doors at the entrance, the cold metallic ambience of the building soothing his frazzled nerves almost immediately. The effect this place had on him was similar to that a steaming glass of coffee had on a caffeine addict. The whole tower just screamed power, what with its stainless steel and glass exterior, lush interiors and thirty storey height. Yep, Fukayama Corp. was definitely the place to be if you wanted to make it big in life.

He got into the crowded lift, nodding hello to some of his coworkers, but that was the extent of his morning greetings and formalities. He knew better than to waste time gossiping like those unprofessional young interns. He sniffed, shooting two such offending interns beside him a disdainful look.

Masaru's concentration on his tasks at hand was broken by memories of the incident that had occurred that morning that had got him so worked up. He was walking to work as usual when he was almost run over at the zebra crossing two blocks away from the building. It had been one of those damned teenage drivers, a young blonde with shades and a flashy car, the typical jock. The guy had probably been doing 120 on a 60s road, and swerved away with a screech of tires, inches before he collided with Masaru, and nearly causing the man immediate heart failure.

Masaru frowned involuntarily, trying to concentrate on planning out his day, but his expression only grew darker as he remembered the way the young punk had driven away without a backward glance, throwing up dust in his face as an apology.

"Why do they issue people like him driving licenses, anyway?" Masaru grumbled to himself, earning himself strange looks from the interns beside him. He ignored the two women, and got back to his itinerary.

The lift finally dinged, indicating it had reached Masaru's destination, and the man got out, striding briskly to the office cubicle sections. By now, he'd gone through and revised his objectives of the day. Now all that was left was to accomplish them.

The office cubicle section was where people of his status worked, where they each had their own spacious desk to work on. Sure, it wasn't one of those private offices with their fancy coffee machines and luxurious views….but they had a fountain. So that made them almost even. It won't be long before I'm in one of those fancy private ones, Masaru reassured himself.

Reaching his cubicle, he nodded another greeting at Harada Yukio, the lady in the adjoining cubicle. He never really spoke to Miss Harada, since that would do nothing to help him get the promotion he was looking for. Then he noticed the stack of papers on his desk.

"Harada-san, what are thes-"

The rest of Masaru's sentence was cut off as a huge explosion blew a hole in the wall of the office section, sending him, Yukio and a few other colleagues of his, flying. He rolled over twice or thrice as he landed, getting a mouthful of carpet as he did.

He cracked open one eye painfully, but to no avail. The dust in the air was so thick he could barely make out Miss Harada's face, only a few feet away from his own. Violent coughs and groans were heard from all around him as he sat up. The wall separating the office cubicle section from the main hallway leading to the elevators was mostly gone, a gaping hole now where the door previously had been.

"Hello, Ladies!" a cocky voice called out.

Masaru squinted as he made out a tall, well-built figure, holding what looked like a long tube over its shoulder, standing in the new entrance.

"The name's Naruto," continued the voice," Uzumaki Naruto, you've probably heard of me. All good, I hope?"

He chuckled and Masaru could sense the ripples of fear run through the crowd. He turned to Yukio who was now sitting up, cradling her arm, her expression terrified, eyes watching the youth as he walked in their general direction, his eyes drifting over the wall, a contemplative look on his face.

"Oh no, not them…." Whispered Yukio, shivering.

"Who?" snapped Masaru, and uncomfortable mix of fear and anger coursing through him.

Yukio stared at him incredulously, which only served to incense him further, "Team 7, of course."

The confused man took a closer look at the boy who looked to be around 19 or twenty. Suddenly, he recognized him. The same spiky blonde hair, bright blue eyes and whisker-like lines on each cheek.

It was none other than the jock from the sports car. The same young punk who had almost run him over in the morning! He seemed to be wearing a suit, although in a casual manner which Masaru couldn't imagine on himself. The top button of his shirt was open, his collar turned up and his white shirt un-tucked. A pair of sunglasses was perched on top of his head, and the man had to admit that that Naruto kid blended in pretty well with the rest of the office people.

The boy seemed to have heard Yukio's comment as his eyes snapped to her, and he grinned a wide ecstatic grin, "So you HAVE heard of us! Well, I'm flattered, Miss."

With this, he leveled the tube, which Masaru incredulously recognized to be a bazooka (How the hell had that boy snuck that past the security at the entrance?), and fired at the wall not ten metres behind them, sending chunks of cement flying everywhere.

The boy noticed Masaru staring at the tube in horror.

"Like it?" asked Naruto, stroking the weapon fondly, "Sadly, it's not mine. A friend just let me borrow it."

"Security! Put your hands up!" cried the Fukayama Guards, bursting into the room.

Naruto's grin widened, and Masaru realized that this was exactly what the boy had wanted.

"Perfect!" he cackled, before firing at the ceiling above the door.

The guards dived forward as the cement collapsed, leaving no room for escape, for he had done the same with the front door.

"I'm in position." He said, apparently talking to his watch.

"Good. Get ready." issued a feminine voice from the not-so-typical Rolex.

* * *

"There seems to be another group who's after the same thing as us. Be careful." whispered a young man, into his phone. He would seem ordinary with his tall build and tousled brown hair, if it weren't for a maroon tapering tattoo down each cheek and his unusually pointed canines. He wasn't an employee at Fukuyama Corp., but was one of the few people in the vicinity who knew that all hell was about to break loose.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please R&R, it means a lot ^^ .**


	2. And Boom! goes the Weasel

**Here's the second chapter! I have my finals coming up, so the next update might be a bit slow. Gomenasai! ^^"**

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Three of the four members of Team 8 were assembled in a small room in Fukuyama Corp. A bulb shone dimly in the corner, the only other light source in the room a small laptop.

"Kiba's confirmed it." said the youth at the laptop. He had spiky black hair and donned a pair of dark glasses. He was clad in a black hoodie, jeans and combat boots. He watched Naruto wreck the main office on his computer screen, his brow creased with worry.

Hacking into the company's security feed had been surprisingly hard, considering he called himself the team's techie. And he prided himself on being one of the best ones at HLSS.

"Good work Shino." said the Team's captain. Kurenai Yuhi. Her wavy black hair was up in a high ponytail, the ends just brushing her shoulders, and her crimson eyes shone brightly in the poorly illuminated room.

"I think we overlooked the chances of another organization being involved," said the third member of their group, shyly tucking a strand of her eggplant hair behind her ear, " It would make sense that other people would be after it, right?"

The voluptuous girl wore the same clothes as Shino did, unlike their captain who was in a suit.

"You're right, Hinata." agreed Shino, "And who would've thought that they'd bring a bazooka."

"Its seems that-"

Shino held up his hand, motioning to his Taichou to be quiet. He gestured to them to come over.

The laptop, which had previously displayed live (and mildly entertaining) feed, was now replaced by a white screen with three words typed across it in block letters.

**HELLO TEAM 8.**

They stared at the screen, speechless. As if on cue, the writing continued.

**AS YOU CAN SEE, I HAVE REPROGRAMMED THE FUKUYAMA CAMERAS SUCH THAT I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN ACCESS THE FEED.**

"Who are you?" Shino muttered incredulously, his usually impassive façade now gone. His teammates' faces reflected the same shock he felt.

**ME? I'M PROBABLY THE GREATEST HACKER IN JAPAN.**

"They're listening in on us!" cried Kurenai, realization hitting her as she sat up and looked around the tiny room frantically. "Search for the hidden camera!"

**HIDDEN CAMERA? HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM? WELL, THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT. I'VE APPEARED BEFORE YOU WITH A PROPOSITION.**

They waited, and the message continued.

**ABANDON THE MISSION, OR YOU WILL BE TAKEN OUT. OR BE SEVERELY INJURED. IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW FAST YOU CAN RUN.**

Shino and Hinata stood up, their eyes darting around the room, Shino's hidden by his dark glasses.

"I know," said Hinata, suddenly, recognition dawning on her delicate features," You're Team 7, aren't you?"

**SINCE THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT, YEAH, I AM A MEMBER OF TEAM 7. CANCEL YOUR MISSION, WE FOUND THE CUBE.**

"No!" cried Kurenai,"That can't be!"

**UH, YES IT CAN…**

The older woman slumped in response, refusing to believe that they had failed.

**OH, AND YOU MIGHT WANT TO START RUNNING.**

"Go, go GO!" their captain yelled, seconds before they were blown through the wall and into the next room. The hacker took the opportunity to broadcast one last message on the laptop which strangely wasn't damaged at all.

**OUCH. THAT MUST'VE HURT.**

* * *

"Nice job, hacking into Shino's computer. Using the laptop's own camera to spy on them wasn't a bad idea either." admitted a spiky haired, dark eyes boy to his teammate . He seemed about nineteen years old, and was in an impeccable grey suit, just like his accomplice.

"You weren't too shabby yourself, Sasuke." said the girl, smirking at him. She was pretty, with bright green eyes and shoulder length pink hair. Her name was Haruno Sakura and, being eighteen, she was the youngest member of Team 7 .

"Where's Kakashi-Taichou anyway?" grumbled Sasuke, frowning. He was well versed with the fact that their team captain was known for his lack of punctuality, but this mission was based on timing.

"Right here Sasuke." called Kakashi Hatake, appearing on the roof of the building, right next to them. None of them freaked out, they were used to him popping up out of nowhere.

"Nice timing on that missile." he added, and the Uchiha nodded, pleased.

"Where's the cube?" asked Sakura. Kakashi grinned, even though you couldn't really make out, since his mask covered his mouth completely. Taichou was very specific about protecting his identity.

"That'll just have to wait till we reach home. Now let's get Naruto."

Sakura nodded, and pressed a button on her Rolex. :We're done here. Move out."

"Got it!" came the impish voice , followed by an explosion. "Now you ladies just sit tight until the clean up crew gets here, 'kay? " she heard Naruto say, and rolled her eyes. Always the cocky one.

"Let's go." said Sasuke, tossing each of them a pair of heavy-duty black gloves. He smiled as the blue lights in them flickered to life, lighting up their palms and sections of their fingers.

"Ladies first!" said Sakura, before the others had a chance to call shotgun. She took off running, stopping for a split second before throwing herself off the roof.

"I wanted to go first." whined Kakashi. Sasuke grinned, winking at him, before he followed suit and leapt off the building.

Kakashi sighed. Teenagers- no sense of courtesy.

He took a running leap off the ledge, feeling a rush of adrenaline as he fell from the top of the multi-storeyed building. Just as he reached the bottom, he stretched his arms out. The anti-gravity gloves he was wearing began to slow his fall, as he landed on the ground in a graceful crouch.

"Get a move on , old man!"

Kakashi turned to see a very familiar Aston Martin screech to a halt in front of him. Naruto was in the driver's seat, with Sakura next to him and Sasuke in the back. The wail of police sirens reached his ears and he swiveled to see the blue and white vehicles approaching from around the corner, a block or so away.

They were approaching fast.

Without hesitation, he jumped into the car.

"Glad to have you." said Naruto cheerily. Kakashi heard the engine roar.

"Now buckle up. I'm gonna get us home in 5 minutes."

Without question, they reached for their seat-belts, hearing the wicked determination in the blonde's voice. Home was 65 km away, and Naruto was a man of his word.

They just hoped he wouldn't turn on the turbo-boosters.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please don't forget to Rate and Review!**


	3. Who are you?

**Here's the new chapter! I'm publishing early because you won't see anything new for a while.**

**( P.S. I don't own Naruto. )**

* * *

"Shino! Hinata! Kurenai-Taichou!" yelled Kiba frantically, as he pushed his way through crowd that had gathered around the massive pile of rubble. His eyes darted around the room (what was left of it, anyway), panic setting in. Where were they? _Where were they?_

"Are you Inuzuka Kiba of Team 8?" asked a man, with 'HLSS' emblazoned on his bullet proof vest. Kiba nodded tersely, studying the agent. He had shoulder length brown hair, wore a bandana, and had a senbon on his lips. He recognized him as Shiranui Genma. Kiba had seen him around the HQ, mostly flirting with women around the coffee machine.

However, the man was at the moment all 'business'. Genma's jaw tightened, as he lead Kiba to a separate room where his team-mates were laid out on stretchers.

"Guys!" the young man cried hoarsely, lunging forward. The agent held him back.

"What is your problem?" Kiba snarled, struggling against Genma's hold. The older man was strong for a man of his build.

"I can't let you come in contact with them until the medical team gives us a damage report. Don't you see the strange orange gel on their skin? We don't know what that is."

Kiba's face fell. Genma loosened his hold on him, looking regretful, almost as if he wanted to let the boy pass. He continued to talk instead.

"This is the work of Team 7, as you might know. They used to be a part of the Hidden Leaf Secret Service, hence the name."

"Which they kept, for some bloody reason. Those bastards." growled Kiba, "My team-mates almost died!"

"We're done Genma-san!" called a young woman, walking towards them. Kiba recognized her as well. The short black hair, the raven eyes. She was on the medical squad. Shizune-One of Genma's flirting buddies.

They had better keep their hanky panky off the field or Kiba felt he would snap and murder them both. His teammates were lying there unconscious, and injured. This was a time for professionalism, Goddamit!

As if sensing that the young man's patience was wearing thin, Genma decided to get straight to the point and nodded at Shizune, and she continued.

"All of them have sustained injuries, but only very minor ones. Mostly bruising, a few fractured bones, nothing we can't handle."

"The gel?" he asked.

"I was getting to that. The gel, it seems, was released by the missile itself. When the missile exploded, it secreted the gel, which enveloped all the agents. What's most surprising, is that the gel actually cushioned their fall, which is why their injuries aren't as bad as they should have been."

"So Team 7 didn't actually want them to get hurt." Genma mused, looking thoughtful but not surprised. Shizune's head bobbed up and down in agreement.

"I don't get it." said Kiba, crossing his arms and looking suspicious. Genma raised an eyebrow at him in question. Kiba took a deep breath and explained, "From what I've heard, I thought Team 7 was weak."

Genma seemed to choke on his senbon as he stared at the young boy, his eyes bulging.

"Where the _hell _did you hear that kid? You don't know Team 7?"

He shook his head.

"Team 7... is the most kick-ass team in the history of the HLSS!," the older man ranted, sounding like a fangirl, "They are actually known for-"

"Genma!" yelled Asuma, another agent," Get your ass down here! Fukuyama's boss wants a word with us!"

Genma smiled apologetically at him.

"Sorry kid. Ask Tsunade-sama when you can," He waved, then walked away, leaving a confused and very angry Kiba staring after him.

"Team 7..." scowled the boy, as he turned and watched his friends being carried away, "Who the hell are you?"

* * *

Tsunade was the Commander-in-Chief of the Hidden Leaf Secret Service. She was tall, blonde and scary as hell. Being 53, she looked half her age. Tsunade was well known for being an alcoholic, and a gambler, as well as for throwing people out the window when she lost her temper.

She looked up to the wall before her. On it, hung the portraits of four men.

The first was Hashirama Senju- the first Commander and founder of the HLSS. He also happened to be her grandfather.

The second- Tobirama Senju, was Hashirama's younger brother, and the second Commander.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was the third Commander. He had been her Team Captain.

The fourth Commander was Minato Namikaze, who had been a student of her team-mate, Jiraiya.

All men were dead, leaving the entire corporation in her hands.

Of course, she hadn't liked it. She would have loved to spend her time in casinos and bars, instead of being stuck in this plush little office, having to hunt down terrorists instead of getting drunk and losing money.

"I hate you all." she slurred, taking another swig of whiskey. Since Shizune, who happened to be her personal assistant, wasn't here, she could drink all she wanted, _without_getting her head eaten.

There had been other options. Her team-mates could have been Chief. Well, Jiraiya could have anyway. But _no,_he just _had_to disappear off the face of the earth as soon as he declared her Commander. And sadly enough, Orochimaru wasn't an option either, since he was one of the very criminals they were hunting.

She _hated_ her job. There was always someone at the door, whining about something or the other. Tsunade sama, The coffee machine's broken! Tsunade sama, My cat's stuck in a tree! Tsunade sama! There's a blood-thirsty unicorn rampaging through the halls!

"Tsunade sama!" cried Ino Yamanaka, a member of Team 10, bursting into the office.

"WHAT?!" she roared, hurling her chair at the doorway. Ino recoiled. The projectile had missed its mark by inches.

"Um..." began the girl. She was no older than eighteen, and you really couldn't blame her for being intimidated by her Commander. After all, so was everyone else in the agency. Actually, make that everyone else Tsunade had ever come in contact with.

"Speak up!" snapped Tsunade crankily.

"Team 8 is here." she managed to squeak.

"So? What do you expect me to do? Sound the bugles? Roll out a red carpet? Order a welcome parade?"

"The only person on the team who hasn't suffered injuries is Kiba. The others were hit by a missile. Also, they failed the mission," issued a cool voice from behind Ino and Shikamaru Nara strolled into her office.

Tsunade's scowl deepened. She hated that boy. He was _such_a smart-ass.

Shikamaru's dark eyes skimmed over the Commander. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was drunk, and he being one himself, knew only too well. He had discovered her secret alcohol stash a long time ago, when she'd asked him to fetch some documents from her office. And being the genius he was, he simply chose to ignore it.

Tsunade opened a small cabinet, pulling out a strip of tablets and a bottle of water. "So?" she questioned grumpily, swallowing a pill, "Just go back and get it."

"That's the problem." he said, sounding grim. She looked up.

"Explain."

"The cube was taken by Team 7."

Tsunade's frustrated screams were so deafening that it was a matter of hours before Shikamaru and Ino could hear again.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please R&R! And no flaming!**


	4. Answers

Fifteen minutes and several strong cups of coffee later, Tsunade found herself outside the medical ward where Team 8 was getting themselves patched up.

She stood outside the door for a second, berating herself for having put her men in danger, and thanking Kami that it wasn't the casualty ward she was standing outside.

But then, murder had never been Team 7's style.

Squaring her shoulders, she pushed the door open and walked in. Her eyes landed on Hinata, whose arm was in a sling. The young girl was sitting beside Shino, who was lying in bed with a neck brace on. Kurenai seemed to be fine except for the shallow scrape above her eyebrow and a couple of purplish bruises that dotted her face. Hinata and Shino were covered in bruises as well. The only person, who seemed relatively unharmed, was Kiba who was scowling out the window.

Their heads whipped around as she entered. As expected, Kiba stepped forward.

"Tsunade-sama, What-"

"I am well aware that I have some explaining to do," Tsunade cut in, her tone grim.

"Damn straight, you do,"Kiba muttered from where he stood, earning him a reproving glare from his Captain. Tsunade decided to let it slide this time. The boy's anger was understandable.

Kurenai bowed her head, her tone regretful "I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama. We failed the mission. The Cube was taken by-"

"Team 7, I know" Tsunade sighed and leant against the bed frame of the bed opposite Shino's. She motioned for Kiba abd Kurenai to take a seat.

"Why was this Cube so important?" Shino, true to his nature, asked bluntly.

"I suppose you know of the criminal organisation, Akatsuki, of course. Well, Fukuyama Corp. has been selling them weapons for some time now. The Cube contained information about all the transactions and dealings that have happened between the two since the beginning of their partnership, including names and contact information about the Akatsuki members. It would have been of invaluable importance to us in the apprehending of these criminals."

"I believe I owe you an apology, for having endangered your lives," the woman continued, tucking a few loose strands of blonde hair behind her ear, "This mission did NOT go as planned."

"You think?" Kiba coughed discreetly.

Tsunade's eye twitched but she decided to continue.

"This was supposed to be a simple in-and-out mission, suitable for a capable B-rank team such as yourselves. However, Team 7 being there is what threw a spanner in the works. If I had known they were going to show up, I would have sent m best team. Hell, actually I would have probably gone there myself!"

"Why?" Kiba demanded angrily, "Who are they? Why are the so important?"

"They are Team 7, a former team of HLSS. And by far, the best team that has ever been born in this organisation," Tsunade answered, silencing them with this new piece of information.

"For starters, there's Uzumaki Naruto," Kurenai didn't miss the fond smile that flitted over their Chief's face when she said his name," The car maniac. And bike maniac. And ... Well, lets just say he's got a thing for wheels. He usually organizes the getaway, including the vehicle which is ALWAYS something flashy, and the escape routes. He's the most dynamic member of their team and also probably one of the most reckless drivers in the WORLD. Lacks common sense but he's got his teammates to make up for that."

"Then there's Uchiha Sasuke, a trigger-happy little bastard. When he was here, he used to be the top Weapons specialist in the whole organisation. That kid probably gets high on gunpowder. He's the quiet type, who stays in the shadows and was the sanest one in the group, the last time I checked, at least. He usually handles the distraction, as well as sniper fire, in case things go wrong."

"Next comes Haruno Sakura, the team's only female member. She was Shikamaru's senior and predecessor before he took over her position after she left. Probably among the top 10 technicians in Japan. Also among the top 5 Hackers in the country. She handles the tech work, and also plays the decoy. Her favored weapon is a green bazooka she's had since her days in HLSS."

Tsunade trailed off when she noticed the incredulous looks she was getting from Team 8.

"And their captain?" Kurenai's voice was shaky.

"Well, if you combine the talents of Naruto, Sasuke AND Sakura and multiply it by say... three. That would give you Hatake Kakashi, their team captain. That man joined the HLSS when he was seven. Young, I know. but we didn't really care, since he could turn anything from an ear bud to a pincushion into a weapon. He may not look it, but he is one of the most dangerous people the organisation has ever trained. Chronically late, laid-back and openly perverted would be a few words to describe him. He's also the reason the other three are so skilled since he is the one who has trained them since their junior days at the organisation..."

"If they're so awesome, how come it is we're still alive after crossing paths with them?" Kiba asked sourly.

"Well, they have all been all trained, and are experts in several forms of self defense, weapons usage, stealth, and -"

"Even the chick?" Kiba butted in, looking annoyed for some reason.

"Especially the chick, you sexist idiot," Tsunade scowled at him. She enjoyed the surprise that flitted across the boy's face and couldn't help but add, "After all, she was personally trained by me for a year."

Inwardly cackling at the gobsmacked expression on his face, she went on," And the reason you lot are still alive is that though Team 7 may have left our organisation and now operate as a solo team, it doesn't mean that they are criminals. Murder is NOT how they roll. They're too well trained for that. With their skills, they're able to finish a mission with minimum casualties and minimum damage too, when they actually put in an effort and reign in their destructive tendencies."

"But then," Hinata's soft voice interrupted,"Why did they leave?"

Tsunade scowled as bitter memories resurfaced. It wasn't a story she was particularly proud of.

* * *

_Kakashi scanned the roof, a frown etched on his face. He wasn't happy. And when he wasn't happy, people tended to catch fire. Or get emotionally scarred . Or both._

_"Sakura." he snapped. She looked up from her laptop screen, sensing the tension in her captain's voice._

_"Hai, Taichou?"_

_"There are supposed to be jewel thieves here."_

_"Well, yeah, that's what Shikamaru said."_

_"Well, if that** jackass **said they would be here, why aren't they?"_

_His voice rose in a steady crescendo until his was practically yelling the last few words. She flinched._

_Naurto sighed. Captain got really cranky when missions didn't go as planned. Especially missions as sensitive as this one._

_"To be fair Taichou, that jackass you're referring to happens to be our #2 techie." The blond boy reasoned, trying to stand up for Shikamaru._

_Kakashi turned his death glare on Naruto, causing him to shrink back._

_"If he's so good , then where are the damned thieves?!"_

_"They're here." called Sasuke calmly, peering over the edge of the roof._

_Kakashi strode over to the raven haired boy, grimacing at the scene down below, as he watched the thieves get away. He planted a foot on the ledge, preparing to dive. Sasuke laid a hand on his shoulder, a smirk on his face._

_"My turn , old man." he said, before gracefully leaping off the building._

_"Awesome!" cried Naruto, before following suit._

_Kakashi groaned. A flash of pink caught his eye, and the next second, he saw Sakura free falling as well._

_Tsunade was going to **kill **him._

* * *

_"What were you THINKING?!" shrieked Tsunade, "Letting those..those **children **jump off a building."_

_"I didn't exactly push them." he mumbled defensively, avoiding eye contact. He glanced sideways. Naruto had his face oh-so-very-discretely pressed against the glass door of Tsunade's office. The boy's leg was in a cast, and he was supporting himself on a wooden crutch. Sakura and Sasuke merely stood there behind him, reading their lips._

_"That's besides the point! They could've been badly injured! Hell, Naruto even broke his ankle!"_

_"Well, that's because-"_

_She glared at him, waiting to see how he would wriggle out of this one._

_"That's because he's Naruto! He's a freakin' disaster magnet!"_

_"Hey!" came a muffled voice from behind the door._

_"Besides." he shrugged, "We completed the mission, didn't we?"_

_She sighed. Kakashi didn't get it. It was alright for him to throw himself off buildings, but he couldn't let a bunch of 16-year-olds do the same._

_ESPECIALLY Naruto-the boy being, as Kakashi very aptly put it, 'a freakin' disaster magnet'._

_Jiraiya, who was Naruto's godfather, had entrusted him to her care before he had left. If anything were to happen to the blond boy, she would be held responsible. Plus, she didn't know if she would be able to bear the guilt. As much as she hated to admit it, Tsunade was unprofessionally attached to the brat._

_She looked up at him, her face grim, "Give me your I.D. Kakashi."_

_He raised an eyebrow at her, but complied to her request anyway._

_She pulled out a red stamp from her desk of drawers and, before he could ask her what the hell she was doing, the stamp smacked down on the piece of paper in her hand and there was the word "PROBATION" on his I.D. in bold crimson letters._

_"You're a threat to your fellow team-mates, Kakashi. I'm sorry to do this, but until you pick safer ways to complete your missions, you will be stuck with desk duty."_

_Tsunade paused, looking at him. She was expecting a tirade of emotions- outrage, frustration, even hurt. Instead, he was calm, and strangely thoughtful. However, three very audible gasps of outrage were heard from the other side of her glass door. Finally, the silver haired man looked up and met her eyes._

_"I'm afraid I can't do that."_

_She raised an eyebrow at him. Looking at his face, she realized the man was dead serious._

_"What are you saying?" she asked sharply, not liking the steely glint of determination in his one visible eye._

_"I cant change the way I do things, Tsunade sama. It isn't who I am. It is like changing my very being. You see, I love the risks. It's all a part of being on the field. The rush of adrenaline, the possibility of being being injured, or even killed- that's what I live for here. And if I can't do that, I'm afraid I can't work here."_

_Tsunade stared at him in shock, as he tossed his badge and rifle onto the table, then simply turned and walked out. As he pulled open her office door, he was met by three angry, noisy teens, protesting in indignant voices. She noticed Kakashi mumble a few words to them, a wry smile on his face, before pushing past them. But she just sat there, trying to digest the fact that she had just lost her most valuable agent._

_Tsunade spaced out for a couple of minutes, trying to figure out what she would do now. But when she finally got her head out of the clouds, she looked down and realised that there were **four** badges and guns on her table._

_The badges and guns of her favorite roof-diving kids._

_"Sorry Obaa-chan," Naruto called over his shoulder as he followed (read:hobbled after) Sasuke and Sakura out of her office, "But if Taichou is out, then so are we."_

_It didn't help that she sensed genuine regret in the young boy's parting words as the door slammed shut, leaving her gazing horror struck at the maple panels._

_Jiraiya was going to kill her._

* * *

Tsunade turned to the four members of Team 8 and found them staring open-mouthed at her.

"What?" she snapped.

"You didn't even _try _to stop them?" Kiba asked bluntly.

An angry tic showed up near Tsunade's temple as she turned her devil-woman glare on him at full force. "Of_ course_, I did. I sent agents and agents after them, but Team 7 seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. No one could find them!" she snapped defensively, swinging her arms in a wide arc. Her blonde pigtails were coming undone and Kurenai could see this was a touchy topic.

"This seems to be the biggest mistake of your career, Shachou." Shino stated brusquely, his eyes hidden behind his dark glasses.

Kurenai winced inwardly. After this meeting she'd give the boys a long lecture on tact, something only shy young Hinata seemed to understand.

Surprising them all, instead of reacting loudly and violently, Tsunade slumped in her seat, bringing up a hand to massage her forehead.

"Yes," she admitted, sounding weary, "Yes, I believe it was."

In the silence that followed , Kurenai couldn't help but wonder what the agency had lost when Team 7 quit. It took the raven haired lady a second to realize that they had been dismissed.

As they stood up to leave, Tsunade looked up, a new determination burning in her hazel eyes.

"I think you guys deserve a break from the field, after what you've been through. Your next mission will involve desk work. A LOT of it. I'll send details through Shikamaru."

Beside Kurenai, Kiba let out a groan. Tsunade couldn't help grinning at the dejected young man,"We're going to get Team 7 back."


	5. The Boys Behind Scenes

**New chappie is here! :D This one is just to give you a peek at the day-to-day life of Team 7.**

**(P.S. Two exams to go, then I'm freeeeeeeeeeee. Yay! )**

* * *

Naruto grinned as the roar of his Aston Martin filled his ears, his heart soaring as he felt his engine rev to life. He could feel the power of the vehicle he sat in and it filled him with awe, sending a rush of adrenaline through his body.

This was going to be epic.

There was no other drug for him but street racing. And he was addicted hard.

They called it The Chase on the streets, a series of races as skilled drivers got together to compete against each other for cash and car prizes and street creds, the winner earning the title of Blacklist #1. It was usually held at the old Tokyo Racetracks that had been closed due to the outbreak of a fire long ago. People thought it was deserted but what no one but the underground knew was that it was one of the regular sites for The Chase.

It wasn't exactly legal… but it was a good source of money for the team, whom he considered family, and a source of new cars for him. A win-win situation.

He smirked to himself looking over to his three opponents. Their cars naturally paled in comparison to his. This would be a cinch for him to win.

That new Lamborghini was so his.

A busty blonde woman, in an orange stretch jumpsuit, stepped in front of the cars, a red bandana clutched in her pink-taloned hand.

"Okay, boys," she called, "Y'all know the rules. First one to finish three laps around the circuit wins the Grand Prize of 50,000 dollars, a new Lamborghini and the title of Blacklist#6. And try to play nice, okay? We all want a good clean race, now don't we?"

The man in the car to the right of Naruto's scoffed, a smirk plastering itself over his face. He was in his late twenties maybe with slicked back dark hair and a rat-like face. He drove a green Ferrari. Naruto gave it a once-over, and rolled his eyes. It looked like nothing to worry about. What was this guy getting all cocky for?

"Ready?" The lady called, raising her arm, the bandana held aloft. Four engines revved up, deafening the audience that stood around behind them. Blondie cocked an eyebrow at Naruto, winking at him," And GO!"

All four cars sped past her, barely before her hand had come down, leaving a cheering audience in their dust.

Naruto ginned down at Blondie as she handed him the giant cheque for 50,000 with a coy smile.

"Well done, Handsome," she winked at him again and gave him a peck on the cheek, which he accepted courteously. Not that he wanted it. Girls like her weren't his type at all. Just cunning little gold-diggers, all of them. He doubted he'd have got that kiss if he hadn't been holding that cheque in his hand.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the riders whose butts he had just whupped glaring at him. The rat-face dude had an especially sour look on his face, which made his victory only all the more sweeter.

He was just itching to rub it in their faces, the urge getting more and more overpowering. He tuned out the blonde who was now hanging off his arm as the fans took photos, a sea of cell phones held up above the crowd.

Now, Naruto. You are a very MATURE adult. Adults don't do things like-

Rat Face scoffed and turned away.

"SUCK IT, LOSERS!" Naruto hooted, shaking off the blonde and letting his inner brat take control of his brain.

Well...so much for acting mature.

The new car was the sexiest thing Naruto had ever sat in. The most powerful engine to date, and it was him who controlled it, the steering smoother and the movement of the car much more fluid than his old one. Not to diss it of course. He loved his Aston to death. After all, it was the first car Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi Taichou had got him, and as a present and not an escape vehicle as part of a mission. They'd all known how depressed he'd gotten after Tsunade confiscated his old Jaguar JUST because he'd been a little reckless with it. Seriously, it wasn't like anyone had died or anything, right? So maybe he'd left a few broken bones and a lot of debris in his wake. But that was no reason to have been so unnecessarily cruel.

He remembered the day the guys had given him his Aston, leaving it in their garage for him to find, and a fond smile spread across his face. Those three meant more to him than all the cars in the whole world, not that he'd ever tell them, of course. And so, he'd treasure the Aston forever, no matter how many cooler, faster cars he got.

But at the same time, he was almost ready to cry with happiness as the Lamborghini purred along the familiar streets, leaving every person it passed staring after it with open mouths.

Oh yeah, he could get used to this.

Humming along to the radio, he pulled up alongside the curb, looking over at the bulding he'd parked in front of.

The Black Diamond.

Only the most elite host club in the entire city.

Mmhmm, they had class, alright.

But then, he wasn't here for pleasure exactly. He walked through the ornate mahogany doors, nodding a greeting at Shuji, the doorman.

"Nice car, Uzumaki-san," Shuji grinned, tipping his hat at the young man.

"You know it, Shuji," Naruto winked at him, before heading upstairs where the private halls were.

He was received at the top by a beautiful young woman in a white kimono printed with gold carp and tied with a pale pink obi. Her smile grew wider, as Naruto took her in, and she twirled, showing off her attire.

"Very nice, Yumi," Naruto grinned appreciatively, and she mock bowed, her cherry blossom hair ornament glinting in the dim light.

"Thank you, Uzumaki-san. It was a gift from my Uncle,"she smiled, then turned and gestured to the inside, "He's in the Opal Hall,"

"Thanks," Naruto smiled down at her, then slipped inside. The interior of the first floor was not as dim as the reception, the décor pleasing shades of muted gold, lit up with artistically arranged lighting. The furniture was also tastefully arranged, in shades of black, rust red and burnt orange.

Yep, DEFINITELY high class.

He walked over to the Opal Hall and pushed open the door without knocking, revealing a luxurious room, with silver and black patterned walls and white sofas. In the centre was a black glass table laden with food, its legs actually carved silver mermaids. A huge group sat around, some with their back to the door, and Naruto's eyes found the back of a very familiar dark head, a young man sitting with his arms around a redhead and blonde as they giggled hysterically at something he said.

Still quite the charmer, Naruto thought dryly.

Alerted by Naruto's presence behind them, the dark haired youth stood up gracefully and dusted himself down, with his back still turned.

"Why, _hello_," Sasuke purred as he swung around with a flourish, flipping his longish black hair out of his obsidian eyes. A flirtatious smile was plastered on his handsome face.

A smile which promptly disappeared as soon as his eyes landed on Narutom, who was smirking at him teasingly.

"Oh. It's _you_," Sasuke grunted, dropping his façade, the only tell-tale signs of mortification the reddening of his ears.

"Yes, Sasuke-Poo, It's me, the love of your life," Naruto cooed, batting his long blonde lashes at his friend who grimaced.

"Excuse me, ladies. I will only be a minute," Sasuke smiled graciously at the women seated around him, some of whom giggled again and twittered responses and some of whom pouted, whining at him to come back soon.

He walked towards his frenemy and grabbed him by the arm and dragged him outside, ignoring his yelp of protest.

"WHY are you here?" Sasuke huffed, spinning Naruto around to face him," You're bad for my image, you moron!"

Naruto sniggered, "Awww, doesn't Sasuke-Poo like me?"

Sasuke's response was to thwack his idiot best friend over the head.

"Okay, okay," Naruto conceded, backing away," I came to get you so we could go celebrate my win today."

Sasuke turned away, folding his arms across his chest, "Not interested. Go find someone else to celebrate with."

"But Sasukeeee….." Naruto whined, pulling on the taller boy's sleeve, "Okonomiyaki won't be the same if it's just me, Sakura-chan and Taichou. Come onnn…."

Sasuke's eye twitched as Naruto continued whining in the background. He knew there was only one way to shut him up, but he'd rather die that give in to the brat.

"Or if you don't want to go there, we could go to Ichiraku's instead! I'll even buy you your favourite- PORK RAMEN!" Naruto was still going on behind him, but Sasuke cut him off by thwacking him over the head again.

"That's not _my_ favourite, you dumbass, it's YOURS," Sasuke growled as Naruto rubbed his head, looking like a wounded puppy.

"Now leave me alone," the raven-haired youth snapped curtly, "I have work to do."

He started walking to the door when Naruto cleared his throat behind him, causing him to falter a bit.

"I wonder what those lovely ladies inside would think if I were to burst in and kiss my Sasuke-Poo in front of them…" Naruto mused out loud, his pensive tone laced with just a hint of threat.

Sasuke froze with his hand on the door handle.

He WOULDN'T.

"Oh, I totally would," Naruto sniggered from behind him, "That'll do wonders for your image, I'm sure."

A few moments passed in silence. Finally Sasuke sagged in defeat.

"Okay, I'll come!" he snarled, whirling around and throwing a punch at the blonde youth who dodged, cackling madly.

"Awesome!" Naruto grinned at him happily, still dodging blows, "Meet me down in 10 minutes and we'll go pick up Sakura-chan."

Sasuke watched him run off towards the exit, and turned to the Opal Hall again. Getting out of his appointments would be easy, but a pain nonetheless. The women he entertained were clingy little vultures, who wouldn't be happy that he was leaving them early.

He snarled under his breath, wanting nothing more than to smack his friend in the face with a brick.

He should really tell Yumi to stop letting that ass in here.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please R&R, it means a lot.**


	6. The Cherry Blossom

**Here you go! This one is mostly about Sakura, so enjoy!**

* * *

"Will my laptop be okay, Miss?" Sekime Tomomi asked, sounding close to tears. The 22 year old Law student knew that if she wasn't able to save the data on her PC, her just burgeoning career would slip down the drain faster than instant ramen down her little brother's throat.

The technician nodded causing strands of her pink hair which was up in a bun at the top of her head to come loose. She shot a reassuring smile at the frantic woman,"Don't worry, Sekime-san, I've got this. Just give me a minute."

"But Haruno-san, that's what all the other technicians I called said too!" The older woman wailed, as Sakura rolled her eyes inwardly. She could understand Tomomi's worry, but this virus was nothing she couldn't handle.

She'd invented it after all.

"None of them could help with my laptop! No documents can be saved right now while this Cherry Blossom Virus eats away at my files! I don't know what-"

"Done!" Sakura announced, smirking slightly as she turned to face Tomomi who was staring at her in surprise, her mouth hanging open, having been cut off in the middle of her hyperventilation.

"Are you sure?" the Law student asked finally, her eyebrows furrowed and her tone skeptical.

"Yes," Sakura answered firmly, handing over the woman's laptop for her to check.

Tomomi tapped away furiously on her laptop for a while, her eyes nervously scanning contents of folders. After a few more minutes, she visibly sagged in relief.

"Oh thank god," she muttered as she leaned back, placing a hand over her eyes.

After a moment, she sat up and glanced over at the younger woman who was sitting there patiently. Tomomi wondered to herself how this girl, who was barely out of her teens could have managed to do what several experienced professionals had failed to. With her slight 5'7'' build and chirpy personality, Sakura Haruno seemed like any other college girl, albeit a slightly eccentric one if you considered her hair colour.

However, in her white blouse, grey blazer and lavender skirt that came up to mid thigh, Sakura resembled more of a businesswoman than a student, the final touch being her professionalism.

Tomomi smiled, "Thank you very much. I don't know what I would have done if my files had been lost. My whole life is on this laptop."

Sakura laughed,"It was no trouble. I've handled worse."

Tomomi fished around in her pocket and pulled out a wad of bills, and handed over a stack to the younger woman,"Please accept this as a bonus. I really don't how else to thank you."

Sakura pocketed the money, and smiled, pushing a few strands of rose-coloured hair behind her ear,"Again, it was no trouble at all. However, I can't promise the virus might not infect your laptop again. I've installed the most reliable antivirus I know, but just in case it hits again, then feel free to call me."

Sakura left Miss Sekime's house, the grateful law student assuring her that she would call if her laptop gave her any trouble in the future and promising to give out Sakura's business card to all her friends.

Sakura smiled to herself as she made her way down the stairs. Oh, Sekime-san would definitely call her… in about 4 months. She'd left a timed virus hidden among all the folders in that woman's laptop, one that could spread even through simple memory sticks or hard drives. It was undetectable by most antivirus programmes, so she needn't have to worry about her clients finding them before they spread.

Illegal maybe, but a girl had to eat. She herself had three hungry growing men to feed back home, not to speak of her own appetite after a long day at work. And with her reputation as one of the most reliable technicians that side of town, she would soon be needed by a lot of people.

Hopefully most of whom would pay as well as Sekime-san.

No sooner was she out of the building when her phone began to ring, a soft flute melody playing from the tiny mint green device.

She was partial to that particular shade of green and owned about 20 things in that colour, including clothes, shoes, bags, her phone, her bazooka…

"Yo, what's up?" She answered, not needing to check the caller id. The flute was her special ringtone for Sasuke.

"Where are you?"

"Just finished a job," She crossed the main road at the pedestrian crossing, being jostled forward by the moving crowd, "Why?"

A bright orange Lamborghini caught her eye, parked a just down the block and she slowed down a tad so she could check out the car properly. It really was a beauty. Probably owned by some rich kid.

Sasuke didn't answer, but the Lamborghini pulled away from the curve and leisurely started following her from a safe distance.

Sakura's eyes narrowed,"Sasuke?"

"Mmm?"

"Where are you? I may need help."

The Lamborghini picked up speed, until it was barely a few feet behind her and it started cruising along, keeping up easily as she tried speed-walking away. The windows were tinted, not allowing her to see who was inside when she turned around to memorize the license plate. Unconsciously, her hand reached into her purse, reaching for the pistol she hid in an inner pocket, along with her money and liqueur chocolates.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke's voice was suddenly sharp and worried.

"I think I'm being stalked," Sakura laughed sourly into the phone," I'll call you if I need backup, okay?"

As the car gradually drew level with her, she slowed down, and whirled around, poised to fight if the whoever was inside tried anything funny. It had a strangely quiet engine for a car its size and class, pulling up making barely any noise at all.

The car stopped beside her and the window rolled down a crack. She squinted inside, trying to see the driver's face but all she could make out was some spiky blonde hair.

"Hey sexy," A deep masculine voice, sounding strained and suspiciously fake issued from behind the window, "Want a ride?"

Sakura sighed in relief. She'd know that voice anywhere.

The window rolled down completely to reveal a grinning Naruto. When he noticed how Sakura was glaring at him, he quickly attempted to roll it back up but she'd already stuck her hand through and grabbed him by the throat.

"YOU IDIOT!" She snarled, "I was actually getting kinda freaked out! What did you think you were doing, BAKA?!"

After a short struggle against Sakura's scarily strong grip, Naruto managed to unwind her hand from around his windpipe and wheezed out an apology. Sasuke smirked at her from the passenger's seat, meeting her glowering eyes unflinchingly.

"Where'd you get the car?" She went on, as though she had not just tried to kill Naruto.

"He won it in today's race. Along with some cash. We're going to celebrate, and you don't get a choice so you're coming too. Hop in."

"Gee, thanks for asking," Sakura snapped sarcastically, sliding into the back seat. The tan leather of the seat felt cool against her thighs.

"Yeah, well you didn't think I was gonna let you make me suffer this dumbass's company all evening alone, now did you?"

"Hey!" Naruto protested scowling, while Sakura snickered in the back seat.

"I see your point," She stage whispered to a smirking Sasuke, earning a dirty look from Naruto.

"All right, all right, let's just pick up the old man and go already," Naruto huffed, revving up the engine.

Sakura shrugged out of her jacket and leaned back into the seat, smiling to herself as the other two bickered. Just one more to pick up and the family would be complete.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Now REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! **

**(P.S. Please?)**


	7. Kiss the Cook

**Sorry for the late update, but I've been in Paris all these days ^^'' . But here you go anyway. This one is kind of a filler, and pretty short. But I still have to complete the next one, so I decided to give you guys something to go on, before you lose all your faith in me.**

* * *

The old man in question was actually Hatake Kakashi. Though often referred to as 'geezer' or 'old fossil' by the loudmouthed blond, he was in reality, a very handsome 25 year old with unusual silver hair and a scar over his left eye, which he claimed he got in a gang fight in his teens.

He played the adult of their family, training the three in various skills of their profession, often preventing Sakura from murdering Naruto and taking on the role of the 'parent', a relationship none of the three teenagers had experienced.

He was employed as a professional chef at Coral Tree, a posh 5-star restaurant famous for its incredible seafood dishes.

Well, technically, Kakashi's incredible seafood dishes.

The three teens, parked the car at the back, in the reserved parking for employees only. The orange Lamborghini stood out like a peacock among geese in the tiny parking lot.

Getting out, they made their way to the employees entrance, which would let them in directly into the lobby. From there, they'd have to initiate Plan 'Kidnap-Kakashi-Taichou'.

Because there was no way the old coot was coming with them willingly. He took his job way too seriously to take a day off. Plus there was the fact that the restaurant would lose much of its popularity if 'Chef Hatake's calamari special' wasn't available.

But they weren't going for okonomiyaki without him, so he'd just have to suck it in and bear with them for one evening of family bonding.

The three of them soon found themselves in the hotel's employee lobby, standing in a huddle a few feet away from the large white double doors that led to the restaurant's giant kitchen. They had peeped in earlier to see their captain working at a large counter right at the end of the large kitchen, with his back turned to them. That didn't mean they could take it easy though. Knowing Kakashi Taichou, the old man probably already knew they were there.

He was creepy that way.

The staff walking in and out of the kitchen gave them weird looks, which they ignored.

"So we just grab Kakashi sensei, knock him out and drag his butt to okonomiyaki, right?" Naruto grinned, as he turned and made to barge in through the kitchen doors.

Sakura whacked him over the head, while Sasuke grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back into their huddle.

"So here's the plan," Sasuke whispered, ignoring Naruto as he clutched his head, whimpering in pain, "Sakura needs to burst in, and get Kakashi Taichou outta the kitchen. Tell him a story about Naruto being in an accident or something…"

Sakura nodded.

"Why do you get to decide the plan, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto sulked, pain momentarily forgotten.

Sakura shut him up with a glare, before turning back to Sasuke, "And when we both run out, you can be in the car waiting to drive us to the hospital where Naruto is."

"And me?" Naruto asked, pointing at himself in confusion, "What do I get to do?"

"Hide in the trunk," Sasuke and Sakura answered simultaneously, without looking at him.

"WHAT?" He yelled, indignant.

"Let's go."

"Hey, wait just a godsharned momen-"

"And WHAT, may I ask, are you three doing here?" issued a familiar voice from behind them. All three whipped around to find Kakashi, one silver eyebrow raised, standing there in front of the white double doors, in his chef garb with a white dust mask over his face. His arms were crossed and he was leaning on one of the pillars. For all they knew, he'd been there the whole time and had heard everything.

Three eyes blinked at him, stunned.

"Plan B?" Sasuke muttered over his shoulder at the other two, and he and Naruto lunged at Kakashi. The older man dodged them both as they attacked, just to have Naruto spin and latch onto his arm. He brought up a fist to knock the boy off, but in seconds, found it pinned behind him by Sasuke.

"WHAT are you guys doing?" Kakashi asked, sounding bored, not even bothering to struggle against them. He shifted his weight, then easily twisted out of Sasuke's grip, then flipped Naruto over onto the other boy. He looked around only to see Sakura hold up what looked like a tiny perfume bottle and spritz a fine mist into his face.

The world went black.

* * *

"What does this guy EAT?" Naruto huffed as he dragged Kakashi's prone body towards the car, while Sasuke and Sakura strolled along leisurely behind him.

"And why am I doing all the work?" He snapped, whirling on the other two, letting their captain's body slide into an undignified heap on the ground, two feet from the Lamborghini.

"Because it was exhausting coming up with a lie to tell Taichou's boss about him being sick and needing a doctor?" Sakura supplied as she clutched her heart, wiping imaginary sweat from her face.

It had been rather difficult to convince the hotel manager to let go of his most prized chef. But he'd have to live with the hotel's popularity dropping for one night. Sakura had turned on the waterworks, weeping about Kakashi suffering from some disease with an unpronounceable Latin name. It was only after the man realized that Kakashi's death meant the hotel losing almost 40% of their business, did he allow them to carry their captain's body off.

"Plus, my butt is bruised from cushioning your fall," Sasuke went on, rubbing aforementioned area, with a pitiful look on his face.

Naruto scowled at them as he picked up Kakashi's body and tossed him in the back seat, "I hate you both."

The three of them climbed in, Sakura none too gently arranging Kakashi so that he was in a semi-upright position beside her. Naruto and Sasuke winced as Kakashi cracked his head on the window for the fourth time, Sakura shoving him off when he slumped on her as the car took a sharp turn.

"Be gentle, Sakura..." mumbled Sasuke.

"Yeah, watch the window," Naruto moaned.

"Just drive," Sakura sighed and the four finally set off for their night of family bonding.

In front of her, Naruto was humming some song off-tune, randomly throwing in the words pork ramen and okonomiyaki. Beside him, Sasuke was growling at him to 'Shut the hell up'. And Kakashi, despite his unconcious state, was his same old silent presence. All that was missing were his amused smiles and smart-ass remarks about the two boys, which she could live without for a twenty minute car-ride. For the second time that day, she couldn't help the fond smile that spread across her face, as she leaned back into the tan leather. Despite the bickering and the violence and the insults, they were complete.

* * *

**Done! Please R&R, and don't flame. It's really mean.**


	8. So We meet again

**Now edited and proofread ^^" Sorry about the earlier one :P**

**And here we bring in *drumroll*... SHIKAMARU (\m/ I can't help but love him)! **

**And Ino -.-.**

**Sorry for the wait! Hope you enjoy chapter :)**

* * *

An agent is liable to acquire, in his first week at the HLSS, a nickname. Some were insulting, some were complementary, and some sized up everything about the person. So, those who saw Shikamaru, weren't surprised that he was called the "lazy genius". That laid back attitude, coupled with the intelligent eyes and quick mind- it was no wonder he had been appointed the agency's top techie.

He was a man of many words, always knowing what to say and how to say it. He was always rendering his fellow colleagues speechless, a trait he would have been proud of, if he wasn't so damn lazy. The other agents never tried to outsmart him, having already being publicly humiliated, more than once.

Hence, it came as a pleasant surprise to all of them, to see Shikamaru Nara at a loss of words for the first time in his 19 years of life. They would never forget his face, mouth slightly agape , eyes wide in confusion.

And the one behind this mighty feat, this impossible task?

It was none other than Ino Yamanaka.

* * *

Shikamaru groaned as Ino dragged him into Hiro's Diner- the best place in Konoha for okonomiyaki. He could be doing so many other things right now. Shogi with Asuma-Taichou , cloud watching with Chouji, even some of the paper work Tsunade had assigned them two weeks ago.

But no. He was stuck here.

On a date.

With _Ino._

He remembered how she had asked him out, loudly and bluntly, in front of the whole agency. It had been so humiliating. Not like she cared anyway.

"Hey Ino?" he said, as she showed him to their table. She flashed him a smile.

"Yes Shikamaru?" she asked ,batting her eyelashes at him. He rolled his eyes.

"Remind me why I'm here again?"

"Because you're smart and cute and funny and I really like you."

He met her lovesick smile with skepticism in his eyes.

"Honestly woman," he drawled, draping an arm over the top of his chair, " I've known you ever since you were born. What even gave you the _slightest_ idea that I would buy your story? Please, don't insult my intelligence."

She sighed, abandoning here facade .

"Fine," she huffed, "Shino's too creepy, Kiba's too slobbery, Neji won't get over that lame destiny of his, Lee is too... _youthful,"_ she made a face," Chouji thinks of nothing but food. And I have been _dying _for a decent date for a long time now."

"And I was your last choice?" he asked, slightly offended that she had placed him below everyone else. Was he really that bad?

"Yeah. I'm afraid beggars can't be choosers," She pouted, then perked up, "So we are going to enjoy this date, okay?"

He avoided the question, gazing at her in understanding.

"You still haven't gotten over Sasuke, have you?"

Her previously happy expression held for barely two seconds before crumbling.

"It isn't fair!" she cried dramatically, Sasuke being an obviously sensitive topic, "He runs off with Forehead and leaves me here! We could have been so perfect! Who knows, by now he might have even married her!"

"Ino... they're _nineteen _." he reminded her, in a voice that one employs when talking to a toddler.

"EXACTLY!" she reasoned loudly, "Now it's legal."

Shikamaru mentally face-palmed for the fifth time in several minutes.

"Alright, so what toppings do you-" he trailed off in mid-sentence, noticing a commotion from one of the tables behind her at the other end of the restaurant.

"Shika, you there?" she asked, snapping her fingers in front of his gobsmacked face. He shook his head, a strangely disbelieving expression on his face, then squeezed his eyes shut.

"Ino." he mumbled, "Turn around and tell me what you see."

"Huh?," Ino turned confusedly, taking one look behind her, before squealing like a rabid fangirl.

* * *

"Ungh." grunted Naruto, as he dragged Kakashi's unconscious body into Hiro's Diner, ignoring the strange glances they were getting from the people at the other tables, "Why do...gah... why do I _still_ have to carry Taichou?"

"Because." Sasuke said, his voice patronizingly slow, "My hair gel contains sodium peroxide and Kakashi's has magnesium nitrate. If I carry him, the chemicals in our hair will react, causing a nuclear explosion."

Sasuke realized he was lucky enough to be talking to the one person in the eastern hemisphere who would believe his BS.

"And I just don't want to." said Sakura simply, sitting down at their usual table. Sasuke took a seat next to her.

Naruto scowled at both of them, before unceremoniously dumping Kakashi's body onto the seat and sliding into the booth.

The three of them jumped as Kakashi sat up with a jolt.

"What the-"

"Nnngh..." Kakashi groaned stretching, and cracking his neck. The three of them just stared of as he opened one eye lazily, blinking around.

"Geez," Kakashi ran his fingers through his already messy hair, "I LET you kids knock me out to bring me HERE? I thought you guys had a good reason to want to kidnap me. I could be earning some good money right now..."

"Excuse me?"Sasuke snapped, sitting up straight, "Let us? We beat you fair, old man!"

"Yeah yeah, think whatever makes you happy, kid," their captain waved his hand dismissively, looking bored,"Have we ordered yet?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to retort, when Sakura cut him off, sending a warning glance at an incensed Sasuke, "Naruto won his race today and ended up with 50 grand and a new car. So we decided to celebrate as a team. We didn't think you'd come willingly so that's why we had to resort to desperate measures."

"Ahhh, congrats, Naruto. I expected no less," Their captain turned, his eyes turning up in little crescents as he smiled at the young man who beamed back, delighted at their captain's praise. Kakashi turned back to Sakura and a seething Sasuke, "And I would have come put for this if you'd asked me to. Why wouldn't I miss an opportunity to spend bonding family time with you guys?"

Sakura raised her eyebrows skeptically

"Plus work's gotten kinda boring lately," Kakashi added as a vague afterthought.

Sakura rolled her eyes before shooting another lance at Sasuke. A glance that said 'DON'T-RUIN-THIS-EVENING-IF-YOU-KNOW-WHAT'S-GOOD-F OR-YOU'. Sasuke slumped back in his seat, obviously not happy with the idea of dropping the matter of their Kakashi's kidnapping.

Just then, the waiter came up to their table to take their order. Naruto immediately proceeded to order four servings of his favourite dish which was followed by Sakura leaning over the table, whacking him over the head, cancelling three of the servings and giving her own order while smiling sweetly at the slightly freaked out waiter. Naruto clutched at his head and whimpered while Kakashi and Sasuke placed their orders.

Sasuke looked around, noticing just how much the place had changed. They'd replaced the paper lanterns with blue glass ones, there was new furniture and the place looked altogether classier. He kind of liked the change. It had been a while since they'd been here last. They'd been regulars here back when they were HLSS agents but they'd stopped coming here after they'd quit. Mainly it was because it had been a popular hangout among the other agents too and they'd been reluctant to run into anyone. But it was also because they'd moved to another part of town, into a more secluded area, making this place a little out of the way.

But the place still felt familiar. He could even make out some of the faces of the other customers. Shiburi, Hengai Kasami, Yaru Arashi. There was even a guy that looked like their old comrade, Shikamaru Nara.

He froze. That _was _Shikamaru. And He wasn't alone. There was an all too familiar blonde with him... Ino.

Oh _crap._

"Guys." he mumbled, an edge of urgency to is voice. He had their immediate attention. Sasuke never panicked without good reason.

"HLSS agents. 10 'o' clock."

Naruto immediately whipped around, blatantly staring at Shikamaru. Sakura and Kakashi on the other hand went about it in much less obvious and agent-like ways. Sakura pulled out a small hand mirror, checking out the agents in the reflection while Kakashi merely let his eyes slide lazily over so that he was staring at Shikamaru out of the corner of his eye.

"Crap, it's Shikamaru!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, causing Kakashi to grab the boy in a headlock and quickly clap his hand over his mouth.

"Act normal," ordered Kakashi, as Naruto struggled against his grip, his voice muffled by Kakashi's hand, "Stealth mode. No talking. We'll eat. We'll leave. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Sasuke and Sakura chorused. Kakashi looked down at Naruto who nodded weakly. Satisfied, the older man let go of him.

"Act inconspicuous," mumbled Naruto, nervously tugging at his collar, "Shouldn't be too hard, right?"

Sasuke facepalmed.

Great. Just _great. _Stealth mode wasn't exactly Naruto's forte (read: He REALLY sucked at stealth mode).

"Well, we're just four ordinary people , right?" said the blonde loudly, beads of sweat rolling down his face.

"Naruto." hissed Sakura, eyes darting to Shikamaru's table, "_Shut up._"

"Yup. Just a family eating food. Nothing suspicious about us..." he rambled, his eyes darting around anxiously, "We are most definitely NOT ex-HLSS agents. That would be totally crazy, right?"

By this time the entire diner was staring at them, _including_ Shikamaru and Ino.

Realizing this, Sakura shot Naruto her most venomous death-glare while Sasuke and Kakashi groaned and slumped in their seats.

So much for Stealth Mode.

A high-pitched and painfully familiar squeal cut through the momentary silence.

"Well, shit." muttered Sasuke, irritably.

* * *

**Aaand finally Done ^^. The whole scene kinda made me laugh when I played it out in my head.**

**Please R&R :) And please don't flame :/ It's really discouraging.**


	9. Talk About Troublesome

**Here's the new chapter! Sorry we're so late ^^" . **

* * *

Sasuke stood up in one fluid motion, and started speed-walking towards the restaurant entrance. He was almost out the door when he was knocked off his feet by the loud mass of female hormones that was Ino Yamanaka. He grunted as they landed in a heap on the ground with her on top of him.

"SASUKE-KUN!" She screeched in his ear, latching onto his neck and sobbing hysterically into his shoulder.

"Geh ofgh meh, Inockh!" He managed to choke out past her death grip on his windpipe, trying (unsucessfully) to push her off.

Over her blonde head, he saw Shikamaru walk over to their table and stiffened.

This was bad.

"Hatake Taichou." Shikamaru acknowledged. "Naruto. Sakura senpai. What are you doing here?"

"Hiding from you guys?" offered Naruto.

"And why's that?" Shikamaru raised one eyebrow at his friend's reply.

"Oh well, you know, we DID run away from HLSS and were being pursued by the WHOLE organisation the last time I checked," Kakashi explained cheerfully, motioning for the young man to sit down. Shikamaru sighed, his dark spiky ponytail bobbing as he took Sasuke's old place next to Sakura.

"Well, since I've already seen you guys, how about we catch up a little?" Shikamaru suggested, steepling his fingers, his eyes narrowing at Kakashi, "You guys seem to have been pretty busy since you left. How's life treating you, Taichou?"

"Not bad Shikamaru." Kakashi replied, lazily surveying the boy, "We have a nice condo in another part of town, have steady jobs and earn a little over a fifty million yen a month."

"Not bad, indeed," Shikamaru grinned after a moment of contemplative silence,then turned to Sakura, "And you, senpai? What have you been up to?"

"The usual." she replied ,smiling impishly back at him. Which,as he understood it, meant spreading a cyber epidemic of her trademark Cherry Blossom Virus all over Japan. He lapsed back into his thoughts-Senpai had always been someone he looked up to. A little too much for his liking, at least. He was a woman-hater, for crying out loud! What was he thinking even ADMITTING to admiring someone as violent and scary and dangerous and talented and funny and pretty as her?

He shook his head, earning himself a curious glance from the girl beside him. Kakashi smirked at him from across the table.

"A little...HELP?!" cried Sasuke, as Ino continued to strangle him, wailing her head off. Sakura slipped past Shikamaru out of the booth,walked over to them swiftly and in one fluid motion, she yanked Ino off her teammate and tossed her aside.

Ino somersaulted, landing neatly in front of their table. She rose slowly and dramatically, her eyes not leaving Sakura's face for even a second.

"Forehead." she muttered darkly, as her rival helped the dizzy Uchiha to his feet.

"Pig." Sakura replied cheerfully, linking her arm with Sasuke's. He groaned noticing the slightly possessive edge that had entered her voice. Sakura's crush on him had faded about a year ago, or at least that's what she claimed.

So why was she dragging him into this all over again?

"Get your hands off him." snarled Ino. Sakura's smile widened , and Sasuke immediately identified the all-too-familiar evil glint in her emerald eyes. He couldn't help swallow nervously. Ino always tended to bring out Sakura's dark side. What was she up to now?

"Alright ." Sakura said, complying to the request, then shot a sickly sweet smile of pure evil at the seething blonde, "But you should be telling Sasuke that, not me."

She was met by confused looks from everyone, except Kakashi, who remained surprisingly neutral.

"After all, Sasuke and I _have _grown close over these three years. _Very _close," she continued, obviously enjoying it as Ino's eyes widened, her expression pained. Sakura winked,"In fact, if it wasn't for Taichou, we would have been married by now."

Shikamaru started coughing violently while the other two except a suspiciously neutral Kakashi stared at Sakura in stunned silence.

"WHAAAAT?!" issued an ear-splitting shriek, seconds before Ino launched herself at Sakura, fists raised, looking ready to claw her eyes out.

The pink haired girl didn't move a muscle. She didn't need to.

A second before Ino could maul Sakura, Kakashi appeared between the two, using his ability to pop outta thin air and casually flicked Ino's neck. The charging blonde froze, then collapsed in an unconscious heap on the floor.

"Geez," He muttered as he bent and picked her up, bridal style, then turned and and winked at Sakura, "Sorry to spoil your fun, but I couldn't have you shattering her bones now, could I?"

The girl sighed, the pouted at her captain, "You're such a wet blanket, Taichou..."

Beside her, Sasuke groaned once more. He walked over to the table, but stopped short as Naruto jumped up and stood to face him.

"Naruto?"

"Why didn't I know?" The blond boy snarled, glaring daggers at his teammate.

"Huh?" was Sasuke's brilliant response, and he took a step back, the violent intention in Naruto's eyes way too obvious for his liking.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU OR SAKURA TELL ME THAT YOU WERE ALMOST MARRIED?!"

Sasuke mentally facepalmed. He rolled his eyes at his furious teammate, slapping a hand over Naruto's face and shoving him back down onto the booth seat, "Keep your knickers on, you IDIOT. It was a bluff. There's nothing going on between Sakura and me."

Naruto looked at Sakura who made a noise of agreement, before shrugging stiffly and looking away. The boy took that as confirmation, which was apparent as he turned and beamed at Sasuke before moving over to make room for him.

Sasuke and Kakashi rolled their eyes simultaneously. That one was such a kid. The older man turned to Shikamaru, who was eyeing them all warily. He raised an eyebrow questioningly at the lazy genius before dumping the unconcious girl in his lap.

Shikamaru twisted as he arranged Ino in a sitting position on the empty seat next to him. Sakura couldn't help notice he was surprisingly gentle while handling her old friend. Her eyes narrowed at Shikamaru, wheels turning under all that pink hair. "I don't remember you guys being this..." The boy trailed off, screwing up his face as though searching for a word.

"Good looking?"supplied Sasuke, plonking himself down next to Naruto and flipping his dark bangs out of his eyes.

"Talented?" Sakura suggested, polishing her nails smugly on her suit jacket.

"Plain Awesome?" piped up Naruto, grinning his fox-smile at Shikamaru, fist-bumping Sasuke.

"Crazy," Shikamaru deadpanned.

"Which is another word for AWESOME, right? RIGHT?", Naruto winked at Shikamaru, nudging him under the table with his foot.

Shikamaru ignored him, turning to Kakashi, "No offence, Taichou, but I'm pretty sure you guys have gotten louder and wilder since you left. I don't remember you guys being this bad."

"Chalk it up to living together for almost three years now," Kakashi explained, smiling cheerfully as he patted Sakura on the head, "Crazy is just normal to us now. And Normal is just plain boring. We're now at extremes."

"That would explain a lot," Shikamaru muttered, looking around at the four scarily-talented nutjobs he used to work with.

"We'll come back with you to HLSS, by the way. That's what Tsunade wants, right?" Kakashi continued out of the blue. The heads of his three junior teammates whipped around as they gaped at him.

If Shikamaru was surprised ,he hid it well.

"And why would you care about what Tsunade-sama wants?" The boy asked evenly, his eyes narrowing at Kakashi.

"I just figured it was about time we tie up some loose ends," Kakashi shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets,"I guess maybe it was a little irresponsible disappearing for a few years like that..."

"You think?" Shikamaru muttered.

Naruto turned to Kakashi, his face lighting up, the child in him shining out through his blue eyes and ecstatic grin, "We're gonna see Ba-chan? Great! It's been so long! When? Now?"

Sakura and Sasuke shared an uneasy glance. Kakashi motioned to them.

"I suggest you guys come tomorrow during work hours. Tsunade-sama is probably out drinking and giving Shizune-san a hard time right now. She wouldn't be exactly very happy to see you four, " Shikamaru said as Sakura and Sasuke stood up.

"Okay, I guess we'll see you tomorrow then?" Sakura held out her hand to her former junior, who took it, "It was nice seeing you again, Shika."

"The same goes for you, Sakura-senpai," Shikamaru shook her hand briefly, then turned to the other three, "You guys too."

"Oh and do us a favour," Kakashi called over his shoulder as he pushed a few bills into the waiter's hand as compensation for the ruckus they had caused, "Don't tell Tsunade-sama we're coming."

With that and some parting waves, the four of them walked out.

Shikamaru sat there, imagining the hell that would break loose at work tomorrow if those four randomly showed up out of the blue. He winced.

Talk about troublesome.

* * *

******It's me, the older sibling speaking by the way. Both me and my little sister are REALLY busy with tests and end of semester exams and juries in my case. Architecture is no easy course :/ Anyway, it's my first time addressing you readers out there and I'd like to thank everyone for all the awesome reviews ^^. They're always an encouragement so keep 'em coming! ;) The next chapter might take a little while since we're both gonna be busy so please bear with us and stick with the story :)**

******As for our team dynamics, my little sis is the one who comes up with most of the ideas, which I contribute by two cents to. Along with that, she writes too. My role is that of co-author and editor :) I don't really get the time to help out much :/. College is killing me right now .**

******R&R! Always appreciated ;) !**


	10. I forget

**Yeah, I realize I'm pretty late, but I had tests. So here's the new chapter!**

* * *

Tsunade scowled as her hazel eyes scanned yet another file of papers. Gibberish, just like all the stacks of loose sheets that were piled on her table. It had been fifteen days since she had assigned her agency the task of find Team 7. _Fifteen_ days, and no progress. Just random references to a pink haired girl showing up at a site before it blew up, or a blonde racer quickly making his way up the ranks, or even a raven haired youth who would be found signing illicit deals. Nothing more. No names, no addresses , no dates, no contacts... Nothing. Team 7 seemed to be a very careful group of fugitives, leaving no traces whatsoever. It was like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands.

She picked up the telephone, quickly dialing three numbers - 010 . The call was answered almost immediately.

"Yes, Tsunade sama?" asked Shikamaru, his drawl sounding crackly through the line.

"Get in here now. And bring Ino."

She heard him sigh on the other end of the line, indicating that he had heard her. He mumbled an okay, before cutting the call.

* * *

Shikamaru grumbled under his breath as he trudged towards Tsunade's office. She was probably going to dump a huge truckload of work upon him.

"Ino," he called, as he passed her cubicle ,"The chief wants you."

"You make that sound dirty." said Ino, grinning as she slipped out of her cubicle to match his pace. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, deciding that answering her would be too troublesome.

He stopped abruptly before the glass door of Tsunade's office, causing Ino to walk into him.

"Yeah, sorry." she mumbled , giggling.

He groaned,"You've been like this ever since we met Uchiha yesterday."

"Like what?" she asked , still smiling brightly at him.

"All happy and giggly and bouncy and...ugh."

She laughed, leaning against him, causing him to stiffen.

"Come in," came Tsunade's voice. Ino moved her head from his shoulder and let herself in. Shikamaru followed after a moment.

The commander eyed them carefully, before blowing out a frustrated breath, causing her blonde bangs to flutter,"As you can see, we have come no closer to finding Team 7, apart from random references here and there. So Shikamaru, I want you to compile the different references from these files to get something substantial. Ino, you'll help him."

Ino looked at Shikamaru, confusion written all over her face as he cursed himself under his breath.

"Didn't you tell her Shika?" she asked innnocently. Shikamaru mentally facepalmed. Ino had just put the noose around his neck.

Tsunade glared at him, her eyes glinting dangerously.

"Tell me _what_?" she asked. He winced at the clearly threatening undertone, noticing that the Chief's hands had clenched into VERY lethal fists.

Kami help him.

He took a deep breath, readying himself to dodge the chairs or tables that may come flying at him, "We uh... bumped into Team 7 yesterday."

"WHAT?!" she roared standing up, causing her chair to slam into the wall.

He cringed, but continued,"They told me not to tell you."

"And since _when _did you take orders from Hatake?" she snarled, obviously trying to keep herself from killing him.

He mumbled an apology, refusing to meet her eyes.

She frowned,"Alright, then what happened?"

"They were the same as usual. But crazier. And louder. In the middle Ino got knocked out by Hatake Taichou, so I had to take her home. He offered to swing by here, since he apparently knows that we're trying to track him down."

Tsunade sighed heavily as she attempted to control her temper. It wouldn't do to kill Shikamaru, he was her top techie. But since Sakura was coming back, maybe she would get away with it...

"Why did Kakashi knock her out?" she asked, distracting herself.

"She launched herself at Sakura."

"Shikamaru!" Ino hissed, turning pink at the memory.

"Why?" The chief was breathing deeply through her nose, her red manicured nails drumming on the table, a trick she used to calm herself down.

"Sakura implied that she and Sasuke were dating, and were planning on getting married,"

"Oh." said Tsunade, less explosively. She had thought they would get together some time or the other.

"But it turns out she was just messing with Ino." The mentioned girl blushed even more furiously .

"_Oh._" The commander's brow furrowed. Of course, she should have thought her student would pull something along those lines. Still, maybe there was a chance that they would actually go out. Tsunade had always liked the idea of them as a couple. She even placed a bet that they would never get together.

"So when are they coming?" asked the older woman, seconds before they heard loud shrieks and cries from the office.

"Tsunade sama!" yelled Iruka, bursting into her office, "Team 7 just walked in here!"

"I think that's them." Shikamaru muttered. He didn't miss the fond smile that flitted across her lips as she stood up with an obviously exaggerated sigh.

"Good. Let's go say hello."

"Your lack of response is worrying," Iruka muttered incredulously, looking from Shikamaru to Ino to Tsunade.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the place?" asked Sasuke, as Sakura lead them into the tall residential building. It was nothing special, with a boring red brick exterior and green tinted glass windows. A few children played baseball in the compound.

"I'm sure." she answered confidently. After all, she hadn't placed a tracker dot on Shikamaru for nothing.

They filed into the tiny lift. Sakura let her eyes run over the different buttons, before noticing a keyhole above all of them - it probably revealed some sort of hidden button . She grinned. Of course.

"What are you-" began Naruto, right before she slammed her fist against the metal panel. The three men winced as the panel fell to the ground, clanging loudly. It revealed a switch, which she quickly flicked. The lift shuddered, before lurching downwards.

"Violent." muttered Sasuke, fixing the panel back in place.

The lift dinged, and the doors slid open smoothly.

Naruto walked out last, looking around in confusion. They were in a small, white room , that contained nothing but a reception desk. Behind that desk, sat a lady of about 30 . She had curly black hair and wore blue tortoiseshell glasses. She seemed to be reading a romance novel, judging by the shirtless man on the cover.

"I'll take care of this." murmured Sakura. She walked up, leaned over the desk, and shot the lady a polite smile.

"Hello, I'm an agent here. Could you let me in?"

"I.D. please." said the woman, not glancing up. Sakura frowned, remembering that they'd turned over theirs to Tsunade the day they'd walked out.

"But I don't have one."

"Then you're not an agent here."

"But I _am_." she snapped, exasperated.

The lady finally looked up, peering at her from over her spectacles,"Then I need to see an I.D. "

"Sakura," Sasuke called. She turned her glare on him, at full force. He didn't flinch,"Give me two minutes."

She rolled her eyes and walked away from the desk. Like he would succeed.

The Uchiha approached the receptionist, leaned forward, and began talking softly. Sakura heard the woman giggle.

"What is he _doing_?" she asked Naruto, eyeing her team mate.

The blonde boy grinned,"He's getting us into the agency. Just trust him Sakura-chan . He knows what he's doing."

Exactly two minutes and seven seconds later, the blushing receptionist typed an entry into her computer. The walls behind her desk slid open, revealing the lobby of the agency.

"Thanks a lot, Miko-chan." Sasuke said, shooting her a flirty smile.

"Any time darling." she replied.

"What was that about?" hissed Sakura as they walked into the lobby. The walls slid shut behind them, revealing a mural of the Agency Logo.

Sasuke winked at her,"I don't work at a host club for nothing."

"Oh yes, I forgot you were playboy extravaganza," she deadpanned, folding her arms over her chest.

"That isn't true." sniffed Sasuke.

She rolled her eyes,"Whatever Casanova."

* * *

**Please review, it only takes a minute.**


	11. A Little Negotiation

**Wow... ****It's been a while,huh? ^^"**

**Please don't kill me :S**

* * *

"Oh my GOD, they're back!"

"Is that who I think it is?!"

"Don't let them get away!"

"Geez... The reception could have been a bit friendlier, dont'cha think?" Naruto muttered, as the four of them stood back to back, surrounded by what seemed like EVERY DAMN AGENT in the agency.

All of whom were pointing guns at them.

Lovely.

" Easy, people, EASY..." Kakashi said, his hands raised placatingly, " We uh... come in peace."

Some of them cocked their weapons.

"We're just here to-" Sakura started, stepping forward, then froze as about ten guns aimed at her.

"Seriously, people! If we wanted to fight,we'd have kicked your butts long before now," Naruto said cheerily, eyes turned up in a grin.

More guns cocked.

"Shut it, Naruto!" Sakura growled, grabbing the innocent blonde in a headlock. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Seriously? Was this really the time?

"All of you, FALL BACK!" Tsunade's voice rang out over the commotion, and the agents in front of Sasuke parted as their ex-chief walked up to their group. By habit, both Sakura and Kakashi stood to attention immediately. The woman just commanded respect and even Sasuke stood up a little straighter, only a shadow of his old slouch in his posture. Naruto, on the other hand, had no idea about the concept of respect... Something that had gotten their team into trouble on more than one occasion.

"Tsunade Obaa-chan!" The blonde boy's voice was gleeful as he started towards the older woman with his arms outstretched. Sasuke grabbed him by the collar of his jacket before he had taken more than a few steps. Something about the steely glint in Tsunade's eyes told him that the lady wasn't exactly in the mood for hugs at the moment. Plus, he had no doubt Tsunade would assign them some heinous task for showing "Disrespect towards a Superior". And probably get them to do it too, even if they weren't agents there anymore. Memories of scrubbing toilets and hallway floors flashed in his mind.

"Leggo, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto choked, as he almost fell backwards.

"Team 7, My office... NOW," Tsunade's voice held a note of authority that the four of them dared not disobey as they followed her through the familiar halls.

* * *

"So..." Tsunade started, steepling her fingers, and glaring at Kakashi across her desk, "Explain."

"We're here to tie up loose ends," Kakashi said, getting to the point, motioning to the three teenagers who were seated behind him on the couch near the wall, "We left in a hurry and you've been looking for us for a while, so I thought it was best if we came back here and cleared stuff up. Make it easier for both parties..."

"What, so you don't consider yourself one of us anymore? A second party, are you now?" Tsunade's voice was cool, but there was an undercurrent of hurt which made Kakashi feel a slight pang of guilt.

"Well, we're certainly not against you, Tsunade-sama," the silver-haired man seemed to be choosing his words carefully, "In face, that's why we're here. I was hoping to discuss with you some terms of our independent operations."

Behind him, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke looked up, sensing what their captain was implying.

Tsunade sighed, "Okay, here's the deal, Kakashi. We want you back. And we're willing to give you an advance of a whole year's pay, increase your salaries, and throw in a few bonuses along the way and things like that. It's been hard without you four for the last three years and I'm willing to let you do things your way if you're willing to come back and join us."

"Okay," Kakashi agreed, shrugging.

"...Okay? So you'll come back?" Tsunade asked after a moment, taken aback by the lack of argument from their side.

"Yeah... That's why we're here," Kakashi grinned at her, " We were actually gonna ask if we could come and work here again. Honestly, this whole cat and mouse thing we've been doing for the last few years is tiring. Seriously, my hair's turned grey!"

From behind him, Sakura snorted.

"One age-related crack and you three get gruel for dinner," Kakashi warned the three now-snickering teens behind him. Sasuke made a zipping motion over his mouth and they quieted down.

"So you meant to come back all along?" Tsunade asked, having used this exchange as time to recover her bearings, now looking in control again.

"Oh yes," Kakashi agreed cheerily, "But that does not mean we're going to turn down your generous offer of increased salaries and other bonuses, Chief. A nice advance is JUST what we needed. That'll help refurbish our sitting room. Sasuke was ah... careless with one of his toys last week. And we hadn't got around to fixing it up yet."

A lesser man would have quailed under the glare Tsunade was directing at him. But not Hatake Kakashi. Oh no, he was no ordinary-

This weird nervous tic thing wasn't going away.

Tsunade raised her hand and Kakashi couldn't help flinching, relaxing slightly only when she put her face in her hands. He'd expected her to pick up the desk and whack him over the head with it or something. Things were going better than planned... Now all they had to do was get out of the room without getting killed and they'd be okay. There was a way to handling Tsunade, who had rather lethal ways of taking out her anger on the culprit... and occasionally innocent bystanders.

All one had to do... was NOT PISS HER OFF.

"Alright," Tsunade sighed, her hand still covering her eyes and motioned at the door with her other hand, " Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke... Leave. Wait outside. I have things to discuss with Kakashi."

Wordlessly the three of them rose and left, knowing it wasn't wise to argue in case they ended up goading the chief into attacking them. They stepped outside the room and shut the door behind them, leaving the adults to talk.

"Well... that went well, don't you think?" Sakura said cheerfully.

"Sure, I gue-" Sasuke's reply was cut of by a muffled roar of rage from Tsunade, and what sounded like several small explosions from inside the room. The three of them jumped away from the door as something slammed into it hard enough to cause the bulletproof glass to shatter.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU SOLD THE CUBE TO GAARA?!"

"Tsunade-sama, please, let me finish... No WAIT! DON'T THROW THAT!"

More crashes and the sound of breaking glass issued through the door of the office, which was now just a frame with half of Tsunade's desk sticking through it. Shards of glass littered the floor below it.

"CALL THOSE BRATS BACK IN. I HAVE SOME THINGS TO DISCUSS WITH THEM TOO," They heard Tsunade snarl from inside, her voice dripping with murderous intent.

Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other, and without another word, ran for their lives.

* * *

**Sorry it took so long :/ But we've been really really busy. I'm interning and the little sister has been studying for school tests so there's been barely any time to write. Anyway, we hope you liked the chapter :D READ AND REVIEW PLEASE ^_^**


	12. One Big Chaotic Family

**Next chapter finally out folks :D ... It's a pretty long one this time. Been busy unpacking since we got back from the UK so it took a while to write this. We were kinda having writers block throughout the vacation so... sorry for the long wait ^^"**

* * *

The trio skidded to a halt outside the agency cafeteria where everyone gathered during lunch break. It was a large room, with long square tables spread out across the floor. And considering the number of fights of different varieties that broke out in there, it was in pretty good shape. Only two tables were broken beyond use and around four others had legs missing. Most of the chairs were intact and the walls were only slightly cracked. And three of the skylights had shattered, god only knew how.

"I hope no one is in there, " Sakura muttered nervously as they stood outside the large double doors, checking for voices inside.

"Yeah, we have enough to deal with," Sasuke agreed, "Tsunade-sama is out for our blood too. So the next time we get cornered by agents with guns, she might just give them the go ahead to shoot us dead."

They pushed open the door and peered in. The room appeared to be empty, so they stepped inside and walked in. Sunlight streamed in from the glass windows above, throwing a pattern of yellow squares across the tiles.

"I wonder if we could nick some food," Naruto said, bounding over to the large lockers at the end of the hall where the agents usually stored their personal favourite snacks, "I think I still remember the combination to Iruka-sensei's safe.

"Doesn't he think of anything but food?" a bored voice issued from behind them.

Sakura and Sasuke whipped around, to see Shikamaru drop into the cafeteria through a broken skylight. Someone else, who they didn't recognize immediately, landed neatly right behind him. Shikamaru offered them a lazy smile, "Yo."

"Hey." Sasuke replied. His face broke out into a wide, genuine smile as the person who had been standing behind Shikamaru stepped forward.

"Tenten!"

The slender brunette looked at Shikamaru.

"They _are_ on our side now, right?"

He nodded - causing the woman's her expression to match that of Sasuke's.

"Sasuke, it's been so long!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. He grinned, and hugged her back.

"Why don't I get a hug?" whined Naruto.

"No one would want to hug you." replied Sakura curtly. Shikamaru glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Sakura's eyes had a steely glint in them, but he couldn't quite read the expression on her face.

Naruto pouted, looking depressed until Tenten bounded over and gave the blonde boy a pat on the head. She grinned down at him as a smile lit up his face, "Good to see ya, kid."

Sakura cleared her throat, and the brunette looked over at her, grinning sheepishly, "You too, Sakura. How's the bazooka doing? I heard some stories from Team 8. Looks like you've made a few modification, huh?"

"Yep, it's working like a dream," The pink haired kunoichi winked, annoyance all forgotten.

"Have you seen the new arsenal? We upgraded it a week ago. Some of the stuff in there is totally awesome!" Tenten said gleefully, walking over and linking her arms with Sasuke. One could tell she'd been bursting to tell him this since she'd seen him.

Sasuke grinned, "Nah, I haven't seen it. We got here like, ten minutes ago. Care to give me a tour?"

She nodded, leading him out of the cafeteria, chattering excitedly about upgrades and ammo.

"Tag along Naruto," Sasuke called over his shoulder, "I doubt you'll be able to follow their techno-babble."

"Bye Sakura chan!" Naruto called, as he followed Sasuke out, leaving Shikamaru and Sakura standing there in an awkward silence.

"Sooo... Looks like you've been ditched," Shikamaru coughed, settling himself in a little square of sunlight.

"Way to state the obvious, Einstein," Sakura huffed, settling herself across the table from him. She sent a last glance at the double doors with a strange expression on her face, and turned back to find Shikamaru watching her shrewdly.

"What?" her tone was defensive.

The spiky-haired youth shrugged, "Not that I care, or anything, but it looks like you've got the hots for the Uchiha."

Sakura gagged, "Ew, no! No WAY! We're just close friends, I mean we've lived together for three years now and we've been working togeth-"

Shikamaru held up a hand to silence her, "Like I said, I don't really care. You don't have to explain yourself to me, you know..."

Sakura glared at him, out of the corner of her eye as she turned away.

"It's just that I noticed your reaction when he was interacting with Tenten..."

"And I noticed the way you were interacting with Ino," she shot back, noticing him stiffen as she mentioned the blonde.

A faint feeling of satisfaction coursed through her as the spiky-haired youth grunted and turned away, avoiding her eye, " I dunno what you mean. But let's drop the topic."

"Oh but I really want to know about you and In-"

"So judging by the screams and other general sounds of destruction I heard coming from Tsunade-sama's office, I'm assuming you guys have done something really really bad, and you three probably left Kakashi-Taichou to take the heat?"

Sakura shrugged, teasing momentarily forgotten, "Yeah well, the old man can handle himself. We were told to wait outside. But I guess Tsunade-sama was pretty mad that we sold The Cube to Gaara."

"And she should be," Shikamaru mused, mock-glaring at the pink haired girl, "Its gonna cost us millions to buy it off him."

Saurka merely shrugged again, looking unconcerned, "We needed money, so we did what we had to do. Do you even know how much Naruto eats? It wasn't illegal since we weren't affiliated with the HLSS back then. So any leads on the Akatsuki?"

"Mmh... Not much," Shikamaru grudgingly admitted, "I've been working on cracking their database- which took quite a bit of time to get a hold of. First of all, there was the primary security to break through which took three months. And then, on top of everything else, the whole thing is heavily encrypted, and it's in several layers. Once you crack the first layer, you get some information, not all of it. To get the remaining, you have to crack the next layers. Each time a layer is broken through, the code changes. It's a pain in the butt and it's taking way too long. Right now, I've gotten through only three layers in the last year with three names to show. I get the feeling there are another seven layers or so to go..."

"Well, don't look so worried, "Sakura said cheerfully, reaching out and clapping him on the shoulder, "Things are bound to go a lot faster now that we're back on board."

"And not screwing up everything HLSS agents attempt," Shikamaru added, grinning wryly.

"Don't hate us 'cos we're awesome," Sakura shot back breezily, waving away his weak jibe. She stood up,and grabbed Shikamaru by the arm, dragging him out of the chair in the process as she strode towards the door, " Okay, enough talk. Let's get to work."

"What, NOW?" Shikamaru groaned, wincing at the freakishly strong grip she had on his upper arm. Geez, now he couldn't even run away like he wanted to. Though to be honest, he HAD dug this pit himself, engaging Sakura in this. Of COURSE she'd want to work on the database right away, he should have seen that coming. He had nobody but himself to blame.

"No time like the present."

"Tch... troublesome."

"Lazy-ass."

"Bossy."

"Yeah, your girlfriend is."

"Give the Ino thing a rest already!"

* * *

Tsunade stood by, while her own personal damage control team cleared out the debris of her wrecked office, searching for anything salvageable. Now that her initial murderous rage had subsided, she felt a tiny twinge of remorse.

She'd really liked that desk.

Beside her stood Shizune, and a few paces away, Kakashi, who'd been kinda jumpy since Tsunade had almost impaled him with the Aztec spear that had once hung over her now destroyed office door.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi, " Tsunade said brusquely, "I lost my temper."

"Captain Obvious," Shizune muttered under her breath.

Tsunade ignored her, "Call Gaara and find out how soon we can arrange a meeting. We'll need to negotiate the terms for the Cube to be handed to us. Meanwhile, find something productive for this guy to do," she jabbed her thumb at the twitchy silver-haired man.

Shizune hurried away, Kakashi scurrying off after here. Though the chief had calmed down, he wasn't one to take stupid risks.

"I think the kitchen floors need scrubbing," Tsunade called out after them, a tone of rather vindictive amusement in her voice.

Kakashi cringed.

* * *

Sasuke walked alongside Tenten who was jabbering nonstop about the new weapons lab. If he were to be totally honest with himself, hee'd admit that he was quite fond of the older girl. Not in a hormone-induce crush kind of way, but more of a mutual respect and understanding kind of way. She was one of the people he genuinely liked and got along with. And she was fun. Quite attractive too, with her cream skin, large chocolate eyes and chesnut hair which she constantly wore in two buns at the top of her head, giving her a rather teddy-bear like appearance. Overall, she was postively cute.

Sure, he could be a player . Being a host kind of twisted your mind and sometimes, he found it hard to snap outta that persona. However, Sasuke had his own morals, and to him, Tenten would always be Neji's girl.

Even if the idiot didn't know it himself.

As they turned the corner, Sasuke found himself faced by no one but the idiot himself.

Neji Hyuuga was one of the people in HLSS whom Sasuke wasn't particularly fond of. He was almost on par with Shikamaru and Sakura when it came to brainy stuff, and almost as good as him when it came to the hands on stuff. And he was almost as popular as Sasuke with the ladies. The guy was just too damn good at EVERYTHING for Sasuke's liking.

"Uchiha," Neji acknowledged, eyes narrowing as he took in Sasuke's and Tenten's linked arms.

"Hyuuga," Sasuke nodded back, pretending to tip an imaginary hat, "How are you this fine morning?"

"Hnh, so you're back," The older youth tossed his long dark ponytail over

"Why yes we are," Sasuke replied, smiling down at Tenten, " Ten here was just going to show me the new and improved weapons lab. Care to join us?"

"No, I have better thin-"

"Oh, Neji, stop being such a prick and come along," Tenten groaned, grabbing Neji's hand, pulling him along with her.

Sasuke couldn't help smirking as he noticed a faint flush rise up Neji's neck as he followed with no further argument.

God, Hyuuga, could you be any more obvious?

As though he had heard his thoughts, Neji looked over and scowled at Sasuke.

* * *

The six of them met in the cafeteria for a late lunch, a couple of hours later. By then Shikamaru had brought Sakura up to speed about the Akatsuki database, Tenten had Sasuke familiarized with each and every new gun and bomb in the weapons lab, Neji had been thoroughly ribbed about his crush on Tenten which he repeatedly denied and Naruto had emptied out the vending machine in the computer room. Everyone had done something productive. Well, except Naruto. He probably didn't know what the meaning of productive was.

Tsunade walked in on all of them sitting and eating together. They all stopped and looked up as she approached their table. The older woman looked exhausted.

She drew up a chair and slumped at the table dropping her head into her folded arms, "Well, Kakashi made it out of my office alive and Gaara's on his way over with the cube-he'll be here tomorrow. And I REALLY need a drink."

Getting no reply, she raised her head groggily, glaring at the teens around her, "Didn't you hear me? What are you waiting for? Get me a drink! I need alcohol in my system NOW, before I kill somebody."

"No," they chorused, exasperatedly.

"Yeah, Granny, we don't work for y-" Naruto started, cut off when both Sasuke and Sakura simultaneously whacked him over the head.

Tsunade groaned.

What had she gotten herself into?

* * *

**Read and Review ^_^ ! (I personally like this chapter, even if I do say so myself :P)**


End file.
